COMMUNITY INPUT REPORT - PDF Free Download

Where is the most important place for you to walk or bicycle to in Virginia? Collection Spots (1) Mesabi Family YMCA (2) Virginia Public Library (3) Mesabi Range College (4) Mesabi Recreation (5) The Shop Coffeehouse (6) Natural Harvest Food Co-op (7) Alice Nettell Tower (8) Online 279 data points collected 60 comments collected Data collected by the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) in cooperation with the City of Virginia, April 2018

Have other ideas about walking and bicycling in Virginia? Mesabi Family YMCA Getting across Highway 169!! Yikes (+1) Street lights are important for walking @ nite to see and be seen! Yes be able to see the sidewalks in the evening/night Is Midway a part of the plan? Is it in Virginia? A new mineview, preferably with bike access Air pollution Keep the streets well-kept and get rid of all the cracks in the sidewalks as well as make them friendly for 3-wheel adult bikes (adult tricycles). Garbage Need sidewalks on Unity Dr behind move theater in Mt Iron Virginia Public Library Traffic violation tickets should be issued by the police for failure to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks. Isn t this the law? Maybe we would cause behavior change and watch out for pedestrians. Trail all the way around Silver Lake :) :) Mesabi Range College Clear sidewalks in winter :( (+2) Have proper walking places like Grand Rapids! Easier access to new bridge from 2 nd Ave for bikers and walkers Knowing there are places to pump up my tires would be awesome If more knew bikes are vehicles on the road too, that would be great. Having community biking events that also cater to beginners It s easy to walk when distracted. Playing music downtown, having street vendors and fairs, etc, would be awesome! The Shop Coffeehouse I d feel safer walking if there weren t so many sex offenders living all over the place! By Mt Iron school Diamond Lane Natural Harvest Food Co-op Create more bike-friendly lanes for getting around town too! (+1) And drivers need to respect bikers. Also bikers need to follow rules to gain respect of drivers!

Have more bike racks Street lights are important for walking at dark to see and be seen! Clear snow from paths + sidewalks Consequences for violation at crosswalk laws for all motorists especially police officers!! How about including Midway?? Alice Nettell Tower Chestnut needs help. There s a huge sideways slant on some of the sidewalks, and people in wheelchairs can t get around There s potholes, cracks, sloping all around Alice Nettell Tower and neighboring apartment buildings. Maintenance issues on trail around Bailey Lake Grandparents want a place nearby to bring their grandkids, and the playground at Veteran s Memorial Park needs to be upgraded. Isn t there a civic-minded organization like the Jaycee s that could help raise money for something like that? The lake areas need to be better kept. Garbage cans should be placed around the lake, and clean-ups need to take place. In the summer, the whole area smells because of the lake. Did development on the northeast side affect the water quality? Sidewalks need to be wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass each other. Virginia should have benches throughout town for the elderly to use when walking. St. Petersburg, Florida, made a big push for benches to accommodate active seniors and got a lot of positive press for it. A lot of seniors want to walk, but they can t without any place to rest. Seniors can t get down and sit on the curb like younger people. Don t install picnic tables There needs to be more lighting along paths and sidewalks, especially in Olcott Park and around the lakes. The old entrance to Olcott Park at the corner of 9 th St and 9 th Ave needs to be kept open. Why is the only way to get in through the double gate entrance by Parkview? Walking at night is dangerous too many drugs, too many gangs I think it would make a big difference if there was one or two police officers who got out of their cars and patrolled on foot. For example, the K-9 unit could pick a different area and walk each day. Having someone outside of a car would make a big difference for public safety Online Good travel to grocery store. Wayfinding from the bike trails to downtown, from the east end of Chestnut, the 4th St. area and from the Finn Flyway at 3rd Ave. So glad to see VA went for this grant! SHIP started this process years ago. What Virginia needs is education to drivers about crosswalk safety. Drivers often ignore this. Also would like to see advocacy to let dogs walk in park. Dogs get people out walking! A fact... so why not provide cheap bags and container at the park. Again education Peer monitored. My daughter lives in EP where you would never leave feces cuz someone walking a block away would shame you and insist on going back to get it. This works!

I don't think people who aren't from here can find shops and eating places. There aren't any signs around town pointing the way. Also, it's dangerous to walk on the sidewalks sometime with the bikers using it, but there aren't bike lanes for bikers either. I d love more friendlier crosswalks for pedestrians. Like ones that can talk to you and tell you how much time you have left to cross. It would be great if there were more stop signs at places like 5th ave and 8th st. Sometimes I feel really unsafe crossing in those areas. Having painted bike lines would be super useful. That way cars don t park over those lines and cars won t cross into them when driving. Bike safety classes put on by the city would be helpful. I think promoting helmets at those events would be great. So many people I talk to say bike helmets look stupid so it s hard to convince them it s worth wearing. " A dog park would be a great addition to the community!! I live in Midway and like to bike to work in Virginia. I haven't tried yet this year with the new bridge but am looking forward to getting onto the Mesabi Trail from Midway. I think I can still go across HWY 135 and access the trail near the landfill road. Fix the potholes Ride and or Walk to work day City or Range Wide. We need painted lanes with directional arrows or sharrows to inform motorists of likely bicycle traffic and to inform bicyclists of the necessity of ridding on the right side of the road. We also need our police to be informed of the bicycle laws including169.22, 169.18 Subd. 3 (3) the 3' rule, and 169.06 Subd. 9. The Police should have this for distribution: Pocket Guide to MN Bicycle Laws www.dot.state.mn.us/bike/education/pdfs/bike%20law%20summary.pdf challenging when bicycles and pedestrians share the same path There needs to be a path connecting Eveleth and Virginia directly - not through Gilbert. As it is, I can't bike to home/work and those who walk do so on the highway. We need sidewalks where there aren't any, we need holes fixed so we aren't falling off of our bikes when on the road sharing with vehicles. That is so dangerous trying to pay attention to all the pot holes and traffic at same time. Especially riding as a family with small kids. I would like drivers to be more considerate when it comes to walkers. Maybe some posted reminders about pedestrian right-of-way and crosswalk rules should be published in the paper AND posted along common routes. I would love to see a couple of different length "loop" paths: 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, etc or maybe 5K, 10K, type routes so people can start training for runs/marathons. Start and end at the Miner's or the YMCA (somewhere with good parking so those out in the country can use as well...). Driver - and bicycler/pedestrian education about proper rules of the road is needed. I drive, walk and bike in town and feel there is a high percentage of people that don't know or refuse to follow proper traffic laws when it comes to bikes and pedestrians - which leads to negativity towards them - which leads to unsafe conditions. Even at properly marked crossings or 4-way stops (with or without lights), I rarely feel secure if biking with my child as I have had multiple close calls by myself. Pedestrians and bikers are just as guilty of not following the rules of the road. The walking trails around both lakes are great - with the exception of the crosswalk by SuperOne.